Steering mechanism for power-driven vehicles.



P. GARVEB..

STEERING MEGHANISM FOB. POWER DRIVEN VEHIOLES.

APPLIoATIoN FILED 00T. ze. 190s.

1,003,894. Patented sept. 19,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

'14 13 2y l .Y A 16 15' 27 ig annum F. GARVER.

STEERING MEOEANISM FOB POWER DBIVEN VBHIOLES.

-APPLIOATION FILED 00T.2e,190s.

1,003,894. Patented sept. 19,1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

'UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK CARVER, F MARION, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE HUBER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF MARION, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

STEERING MECHANISM FOR POWER-DRIVEN VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 19, 1911.

Application filed October 2G, 1908. Serial No. 459,466.

To all whom Iit may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK GARvnn, a citizenof the United States, residing at Marion, in the county of Marion and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steering Mechanism for Power-Driven Vehicles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to steering mechanism for power driven vehicles and is designed more particularly for use in connec tion with traction engines.

The object of the invention is to provide a power steering mechanism for a vehicle of this character which will be actuated from the driving mechanism of the vehicle; which will be provided with means for holding the same in its adjusted position; which will be exceedingly simple in its construction and will operate with a minimum amount of power and in which friction members may be utilized for transmitting the power' from the driving mechanism to the steering drum.

With these objects in view my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in certain combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter to be described, and then more particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse, sectional view of my invention, showing the same mounted on the boiler of a traction engine; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a' side elevation thereof; and Fig. t is a detail View of the means for holding the mechanism in its adjusted position.

In these drawings I have illustrated the preferred form of my invention and have shown the same as mounted on the boiler 1 of the traction engine of ordinary construetion. This boilerl is provided with the usual steering drum or shaft 2 which is supported from the boiler, preferably by joui provided with a worm wheel 5 adapted to mesh with a vertically ar anged worm journaled in the arms 7 of a bracket 8 which is mounted 011 the outer side of the adjacent bearing bracket 3 and is provided with' a shaft 9.

The shaft 9, which is rigidly secured to the upper end of the worm 6, is j ournaled at its upper end in a supporting bracket l() which is mounted on the boiler near the top thereof. A bevel gear 11 is rigidly secured to the upper end of the shaft 9, which proliects above the supporting bracket 10. This bevel gear 1 1 is adapted to mesh with bevel pinions 12 mounted on a horizontal shaft 13 which is journaled in bearings 1li formed in the upper portions of upwardly extending a'rms 15 carried by the bracket 10. The pinions 12 are so .mounted on the shaft 13 as to have a free rotary movement thereon, but to be held against longitudinal movement relatively thereto, this being preferably accomplished by mounting a collar 16 on the shaft near the inner edge of the hub of each pinion 12, this collar being held against movement in the manner hereinafter described. Each pinion 12 is provided with one member of a clutch, the other member of which is slidably mounted upon the shaft 13 and is held against rotary movement thereon. In the present instance, I have shown each of the pinions 12 as provided with one member of a friction clutch, which member comprises a friction cone 17, preferably cast integral with the pinion 12. A sleeve or hub 18 is mounted on the shaft 13 between the pinions 12 and has a free longitudinal movement 011 said shaft between said pinions, this preferably being accomplishtal by means of a spline or key 19 which serves to connect the sleeve 18 to the shaft 13 and hold the same against rotary movement. This key 19 is of such a length as to engage at its opposite ends with the two collars 16, thus holding these collars against longitudinal movement on the shaft and retaining the pinions 12 a'lso against longitudinal movement. The sleeve or hub 18 is provided with oppositely extending flanges or friction members 20 adapted to cooperate with the friction cone 17 carried by the pinions 12, these friction members being so arranged that when the sleeve 18 occupies a central position between the two pinions 12, the clutch members 2O will both be out of engagement with their respective clutch members 17, allowing both pinions 12 to remain idle.

Suitable means are provided for moving the sleeve 18 and clutch members 2O longitudinally of the shaft to bring the same into engagement with one of the friction cones 17, thereby actuating the corresponding pinion 12 and rotating the bevel pinion 11 and shaft 9 to turn the steering wheels in the desired direction. In the present instance I have provided the sleeve or hub 13 with an annular groove21 adapted to receive a collar 22 having pins 22a adapted to be engaged by the bifurcated arms of a yoke 23 which is pivoted upon an arm 24- carried by the bracket 10a. An arm 26 extends at an angle to the yoke 23 and is adapted to be connected to suitable operating means 25, by means of which the engineer may actuate the clutch members 20 to rotate the shaft 9 in the desired direction.

The shaft 13 may be actuated from the driving mechanism of the traction engine or vehicle in any suitable manner, but I have here shown this shaft as extending some distance beyond the bearing 14 adjacent to the boiler 1 and having its inner end journaled in a bearing 27 which also forms part of the bracket 10. The shaft 13 is provided with a gear 28 which is rigidly secured thereto and is connected, by means of an intermediate gear 29 journaled on a stud shaft 30 carried by the bracket 10, with a gear 31 rigidly secured to the engine shaft 32, which, in turn, is journaled in the bearing bracket 10a mounted on the boiler. Thus, the shaft 13 is driven continuously in one direction while the engine is in operation, and, by connecting one or the other of the pinions 12 with the shaft, the steering wheels may be turned in the desired direction.

Although the worm 6 and worm wheel 5 will serve, to a certain extent, to prevent the steering wheels from being turned by contact with obstructions or irregularities in the road Ihave found it desirable to provide additional means for retaining the wheels against movement under these circumstances. I have, therefore, provided suitable brake mechanism upon the shaft 9 which serves to hold this shaft and the steering wheels in their adjusted positions. This brake mechanism, as here shown, consists of a friction drum 33 which is rigidly secured to the shaft 9 by means of a set screuT 34:, preferably at a point near the upper end of the shaft 9. A brake band 35 extends about the friction drum 33 and has its ends secured to the bracket 10 in such a manner as to hold the band 35 in frictional engagement with the drum 33, thus holding the shaft 9 against rotary movement until a positive force has been applied thereto. I prefer to make this friction band self adjusting, and, to this end, I connect the two ends of the band 35 to the bracket 10 by means of a bolt 36 which extends through said ends into said bracket and is provided with a spring 37 which is coiled about the same between the outermost end of the band 35 and the head of the bolt, thus maintaining a resilient pressure upon the outer end of the band 35 and also providing means for the positive adjustment of this band by the adjustment of the bolt 36 relatively to the bracket 10.

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that I have provided a power-actuated steering mechanism which can be readily actuated from the driving shaft of the engine or from any other driven member and which is of such a construction as to require but a minimum amount of power to operate the same; and further, that I have provided the steering mechanism with means for holding the same in its adjusted position, thereby preventing the steering wheels from being turned when they come into contact with an obstruction on the road.

It is a common difiiculty or defect in the steering mechanism of traction engines that the operator must keep hold of the steering device at all times lest, when the wheels run into an obstruction in the roadway, they will swing the steering axle on the king bolt and cause the engine to leave its course or run off the road, or partially so. It is, therefore, an important factor in these engines to be able to control their course, once set, while still relieving the operator of the necessity of constantly holding on to the steering devices. rIhe friction-holding drum and its band, hereinbefore described, interposed in the steering mechanism, I have ascertained to completely fulfil this requirement so that with the frictional holding device interposed in the steering mechanism the operator can get relief, once he sets the course of hisengine, and can run along the road without the engine losing its course, as obstructions to the wheels do not swing the axle since the friction device resists such tendencies. I believe myself the first to provide a traction engine steering mechanism with an interposed friction-holding device for this purpose. Further, it will be apparent that I have provided a mechanism of this character employing friction means for transmitting the power from the engine shaft to the steering members, thus securing all the advantages of a friction gearing for the steering mechanism. And it will also be apparent that the device is of an exceedingly simple character having no complicated parts or adjustments to become disarranged or broken and that the mechanism is possessed of a high degree of efficiency,

enabling, as it does, the steering wheel to be instantly turned to as small or as great an extent as may be desirable.

It will be apparent that, while I have shown and described the mechanism as applied toa particular type of traction en-4 gine, it can be readily adapted to traction engines of other types and to vehicles other than traction engines without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I, therefore, wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described my invenn tion, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a traction engine, the combination, with a boiler, a steering drum supported beneath said boiler and extending transversely thereto, a worm wheel secured to one end of said drum, a vertical steering shaft arranged at one side of said boiler, a worm secured to theV lower end of said shaft and meshing with said worm wheel, a bracket secured to said boiler and having a bearing for the upper end of said steering shaft, and operating mechanism for said steering shaft mounted on said bracket, of a friction drum rigidly secured to said steer-inv shaft adjacent to said bracket, a flexible tband extending about said drum, a bolt extending through the end of said friction band and screw-threaded into said bracket, that end of said iexible band adjacent to the head of said bolt being freely movable longitudinally to the bolt, and a spring coiled about said bolt between the head thereof and said freely movable end of said flexible band and tending to nieve said end of said band toward the other end thereof.

In testimony whereof, I a'fiix my signa` ture in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK GARVER. Witnesses:

S. E. BAnLow, PAUL T. BLAIR.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

